


growth

by FyreLily



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Brotherly Bonding, CMON MERCURY SAVE HIM, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, Help, How Do I Tag, I cried when I wrote that WHY COULDNT IT HAVE BEEN CANON, I mean I think so, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture, Injury, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Recovery, the author is very tired, uhh are there any other tags I should add
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-06
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:48:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27907744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FyreLily/pseuds/FyreLily
Summary: This isn't right. Kids shouldn't have to be scared like this.Mercury is going to fix this.He's going to save Oscar. Bring him home to his friends. To his family.He's going to save Emerald. Help her see that she has a way out.He's going to save himself.
Relationships: Mercury Black & Oscar Pine, Mercury Black/Emerald Sustrai, Oscar Pine & Everyone, minor Oscar Pine/Whitley Schnee, the emercury can be read as platonic as well!!
Comments: 55
Kudos: 188





	1. floating

**Author's Note:**

> hi guys! I'm back at it again. I just,,, really want mercury to rescue Oscar. and for emerald to come with them. and for Oscar to be reunited with his team. so I wrote this. enjoy!!

There is a distinctive sound that a child makes when they are trying to hold back sobs.

Mercury, unfortunately, knows this sound very well. It is a sound that he was well-acquainted with during his childhood. He remembers the pain, the anger, the fear… kids shouldn’t have to be that scared. Especially not of adults. 

So Mercury watches Hazel as the man walks down the hallway, flexing his wrists. Mercury stares at him impassively, knowing that Hazel won’t return his gaze. When Hazel is gone, Mercury sneaks down to the door that Hazel walked out of. Mercury takes a deep breath. He knows this isn’t going to be fun but… he can’t just walk away. 

He opens the door, realizing a moment too late that Salem can probably sense his movements throughout the whale, with all her creepy Grimm magic and stuff. Oh well. Who cares if he goes in this room? It’s not like she told him not to…

Mercury steps into the room. It’s the same as the rest of the whale:  dark, and gloomy, and disgusting. But unlike the rest of the whale, it’s not silent and empty. 

On the far side of the room, there is a child. Curled up against the wall. Trying not to cry. 

Brothers, Mercury hates that sound. 

He wills himself not to turn tail and run right out the door. He could. It would be so easy. But then this would tug at him for the rest of forever. He would never stop hearing the sound.

Mercury forces himself to move. Much too soon, he is towering over the small boy. He wants to speak, to say something….

The child looks up, his eyes terrified and weary and defiant and sad at the same time. His eyes do not look like those of a child. They look like the eyes of someone who has been through far too much. 

He cowers before Mercury, curling in on himself as if to protect his chest and face. There’s a pang in Mercury’s chest. He sits down next to the kid, and for some reason, he starts talking.

“I… I’m sorry.”

The kid looks up in disbelief, the fear in his eyes fading. “What?”

Mercury sighs. “You don’t deserve this, do you? You’re just a little kid.” 

Said “little kid” lets out a kind of sad laugh. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

Mercury allows himself to give a small laugh as well. “Oscar, isn’t it? I’m Mercury.”

Oscar nods, then becomes distant. “Yeah. I’m…. Oscar.”

“So, Oscar… are you okay?”

Oscar stiffens. “Uh, yeah. Why would you ask that?”

Mercury gives him a wry smile. “I know I’m supposed to be the bad guy, but I’m not here to hurt you or anything. So. You sure that you’re good?” 

“Well, not really. Salem kind of, um… uh….” Oscar begins.

“Tortured you?” Mercury offers, inwardly grimacing. 

“Yeah. And then Hazel…” Oscar trails off, clearly not wanting to finish. Mercury sighs. He doesn’t want to finish the sentence either. Instead, he looks over at Oscar. 

“I guess i shouldn’t have asked. I don’t even really know why I came here, but… do you want me to see if I can get you a bandage or something?” Mercury tries. 

Oscar shakes his head. “That’s… probably not a good idea.  _ She’s _ probably going to come back in a few hours.” 

“Okay, but I’m sure we can do something,” Mercury says, reaching out to the closest thing. The closest thing happens to be Oscar’s leg, which is bent out at an awkward angle. The moment Mercury touches it Oscar jerks back, his eyes wide and his mouth closed tight, clearly trying to contain a cry or a shout. Mercury reels back. 

“Right. Should’ve seen that coming. Sorry.” 

He sits back, scooting away from Oscar. 

The boy looks at him wearily, but relaxes. He’s still holding his leg. Mercury bites his lip. He feels… tired. This isn’t how this should go. This isn’t how  _ anything _ should go. They’re both kids. Kids shouldn’t be fighting a war.

Kids shouldn’t have to fear grown men.

Kids shouldn’t have to worry about being hit.

Kids shouldn’t be here. 

Mercury makes a decision. 

“All right kiddo. We’re making a plan.”   
  


Oscar turns his head, confused. “What? A plan for what?”

Mercury runs his hand through his hair. “To get out of here, of course. What else would we make a plan for?” 

Oscar gives him a small smile, and honestly, that’s enough. “Well, we could make a plan to play uno or something.”   
  


“That’s… not a bad idea. I think I have a deck somewhere, we could totally play sometime,” Mercury muses. 

“That’s a good idea but I would prefer getting off of this… whale, or whatever it is. If you don’t mind,” Oscar says wryly. 

Mercury laughs. “Yeah, I get it. But we probably won’t be able to get off immediately, so maybe a game will be a good way to pass the time.”

Oscar nods. “I’ve been here for less than three hours and I can already tell that a reprieve and a chance to play a game will be a blessing.”

His smile fades away, and he breaks eye contact. 

Mercury clenches his fist. “We’re going to get you out of here, okay? Me too. Both of us are getting out of here.” 

Oscar looks up again. His tired eyes have a spark of hope in them. A fire, Mercury decides. He’s going to turn that spark into a raging inferno if it’s the last thing he does. Honestly, it very well might be. 

“I… thank you. Not many people would risk the wrath of  _ Salem _ for someone like me,” Oscar admits. “Speaking of which, are we sure she can’t hear us?”

Mercury winces. “I sure hope not. But I better be going soon. We don’t want her finding out.”

Oscar agrees: “That would be bad.” 

There’s an awkward silence. “So… maybe we should start planning?” Mercury suggests.

“Uh, probably. It’s going to be hard for me to walk out of here with my leg, though. Also um. I’m probably going to be more injured by the time we try to escape? Just a guess.”

Mercury looks away. The kid is right. That’s… not a comforting thought. At least he’s accepted it?

No, that’s even worse. 

“Yeah, you’re right. I guess I’ll just have to carry you, pipsqueak.”

Oscar’s face morphs into an expression of surprise. “....Carry me?”

Mercury nods thoughtfully. “Yup. That’s probably going to have to be what happens.”

“Oh, uh. Okay then. That’s going to be real hard to just run out with you carrying me. How will we get off of the whale?” Oscar asks.

“Cinder brought a ship when she came back. I could probably figure out how to drive it,” Mercury tells him. 

Yes, that would work. Mercury doesn’t know how to drive an airship, but it can’t be that hard. The ice cream girl could do it.

“Oh, speaking of Cinder…” Oscar starts. “How are we going to get past… well, everyone? There’s Salem, and Tyrian, and Hazel, and Cinder, and Neo, and Emer-”

Mercury cuts him off. “I’ll convince Emerald to come with us.”

Oscar looks uncomfortable. “Are you… sure she'll want to leave? She seems pretty attached to Cinder.”

“I… yeah. Yeah, I can do it. Even if she doesn’t come with us, she won’t stop us. She won’t stop me from leaving.”

“Okay,” Oscar replies. “I trust you.”

Huh. That’s… a weird feeling. To be trusted. Mercury isn’t sure if he likes it. On one hand, there is a child who trusts him enough to put his… well, his life on the line. There’s someone who believes in him enough to think that maybe, he really can do this. On the other hand, if he fails… then he well and truly fails. Then this little kid, who trusted him, is let down, and left to his fate. 

Mercury isn’t going to fail him. 

They can do this. 

\---

It turns out that Oscar is excellent at Uno. 

And it’s not like Mercury’s going easy on him to give him hope or anything… of course not.

\---

Scratch that, Oscar is excellent at Uno even when Mercury tries his hardest. What the hell. Where did he even learn this?

\---

Mercury has not won a single game of Uno in the last week. But the victory that he has won is so, so much better. In the last week, his new friend (adopted little brother, if you will) has gone through the worst torment of his life. The sounds… the sounds that Mercury hears that night will never leave him for the rest of his life. 

~~ A little bit like the Fall of Beacon. ~~

But the hours that they find in between? The small smiles that Mercury sees are so worth it. The little laughs, the triumphant grins. 

Mercury is going to save this child.

Mercury is going to save himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!! feel free to tell me if I need to add a tag or have typos. Feedback is always appreciated. [You can find me on twitter @ sapphicscarlett](https://twitter.com/sapphicscarlett) and here's [my curiouscat](https://curiouscat.qa/sapphicscarlett)


	2. flying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They need to leave. If they ever want to do this... if he wants to do this in time to save Oscar... then they have to go. Now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys!!!! im back with another chapter, at last. this is a little later than I wanted it to be, but I am pretty happy with it! Rest In Peace, mercury saves Oscar theory... you had a good run. thank you so much for all of the positive feedback on c1, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!

One day, Mercury finally beats Oscar at Uno.

That’s when he realizes just how badly he fucked up.

_ No one  _ can beat Oscar at Uno. Mercury has tried for days, and insisted that there had to be someone who could defeat Oscar, but the farm boy just laughed, saying that no one had beat him at Uno since he was eleven years old.

Mercury should not have been able to win this. Oscar’s natural skill and Mercury’s natural… er, not-skill makes it so that it would be impossible for Mercury to triumph.

Unless Oscar gives up.

Back in his chambers, Mercury bangs his fists against his head, leaning against the flesh wall of Monstra. Stupid, stupid, stupid. 

They’ve been here too long. 

He thought that he was doing well, playing the waiting game. It was working but him. But never for Oscar. 

Oscar, the one who is getting beaten every day.

Oscar, the one who is constantly in pain.

Oscar, the one who feels Salem’s wrath.

Oscar, who had told him “I trust you.”

Oscar! By the brothers, this kid! If he lost… if he gave up… 

There’s still time. There has to be. 

Mercury sits down, hands running through his dark gray hair. He’s got to fix this somehow. They’ve got to leave. They need to get out of here. Before Oscar has lost his spirit. Before Salem has bent him so far that he’s broken.

Before he’s unfixable. 

~~Like Mercury is.~~

Mercury feels the phantom pains again, the sting and bite, even though there is nothing there. Nothing that is hurting is there to be hurt.

And yet he is still in agony.

Mercury clasps his hands together, leaning over. He needs to step up his game. To make a plan. To leave. Now. 

He needs Emerald. 

\---

“You want me to leave?”

Mercury tries not to let in show in his eyes how desperate he is. “Keep it down!”

“Sorry,” Emerald responds sheepishly. “But are you serious?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Mercury asks, cocking his head to the side.

Em shifts her arms. “Well… a few weeks ago, you said that you… belonged here. I was the one talking about leaving.”   
  


“But that was ages ago! And…” Mercury turns away, not exactly sure how to finish. “Things are different now.”

“Because of that kid?”   
  
Mercury sighs, then nods. “Yeah, I guess. It’s just… he-” 

He stops, opening and closing his mouth. “Oscar, he- he reminds me of… myself, I guess? And my old man-”

This time, Emerald cuts him off. “You don’t have to say it... I… I get where you’re coming from...”

That doesn’t sound like agreement. That sounds like the start of a non-apology. Mercury bites his lip. 

“But I can’t leave. Maybe I could before, but… not now. Cinder’s back. I have… I have a  _ purpose _ again, Merc. I can’t just abandon her.” Emerald looks at him, her eyes pleading with him to understand. “She needs me.”

And suddenly Mercury is angry. Is this anger directed at… Emerald? At Cinder? At himself?   
  
Perhaps. 

“No, she doesn’t! Why can’t you see that?” he yells.

Emerald steps back. “What?”

“She doesn’t care about you! She doesn’t love you! She doesn’t need you, Emerald!” Mercury stops, curling his hand into a fist. He doesn’t voice the sentence that drifts through his mind. 

_ Not like I need you.  _   
  


Mercury sighs again. It feels like he’s been doing that a lot lately. 

Emerald’s fists are clenched. She doesn’t look at him. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe you aren’t. But I’m not giving up now, I - I can’t. Just take the kid and leave. I won’t rat you out. I wouldn’t…  _ betray  _ you like that.”   
  
Mercury looks up. Oh, is that what she thinks this is? A betrayal? Him wanting to leave and find a safe place for himself and an innocent kid is a betrayal? Him begging her to come with him and find a better life is a betrayal?   
  


“I can see what you’re thinking, and you know that’s not what I-”

“Forget it, Em. I hope you’re happy here. I hope you’re happy living the rest of your life serving someone who doesn’t care about you. Never has, never will.” 

Mercury turns around and begins to walk away, wincing at his own words. That came out… harsher than intended. 

If that’s what it takes to snap her out of this… this  _ delusion,  _ then maybe it was worth it. 

He stops at the doorway, refusing to look over his shoulder. He knows what he’ll see. Emerald’s ruby red gaze boring into his back. 

Mercury keeps going.

\---

“So she… won’t help us. Oh. Okay then,” Oscar murmurs. 

Mercury feels his heart crack at the… what’s the word he’s looking for?

Calmness?

Lack of emotion?

No.

It’s the acceptance. 

What is driving a knife straight into Mercury’s chest is the acceptance in Oscar’s voice. He doesn’t believe that he’s going to get out of here.

Mercury’s new little brother, his uno buddy, his resilient friend, is giving up. 

He can’t let this happen. 

Mercury sits down next to Oscar, trying to ignore how the kid’s injuries - especially his leg - look even worse than the last time he saw them (which was only a couple hours ago). Oscar can’t stand, let alone walk. He needs help. Now. 

Mercury kneels down in front of Oscar, placing a hand on his shoulder. He tries to be as gentle as possible, but still sees Oscar wince. Stupid broken ribs.

“You said you trusted me, remember? Do you still trust me?” he asks. 

Oscar looks up at him tiredly. Mercury’s heart stops for a moment. 

“Yes.”

Mercury inwardly breathes a sigh of relief. This wasn’t over. 

“Then let me do this. I told you before that we didn’t need Emerald. We still don’t. It would’ve been nice…” Mercury mutters rubbing his arm. “But not essential. We’re leaving. Today.”

Oscar blinks in surprise. “What? Today? When?”

“As soon as possible,” Mercury replies. “Like… as soon as night falls. Salem doesn’t really sleep but she… rests. And Cinder is leaving for her weird quest thingy tonight. Tyrian will probably be guarding Salem’s chambers for no reason, like usual. So we just have to get around Hazel. And Neo. Sound okay?”

“I… I... yes. Let’s leave. Do you have the airship ready?” Oscar asks, somewhat uneasily. 

Mercury nods. A lie. He doesn’t have the airship ready, but it shouldn’t take long. He just… needs to put it in the right place, right? Is there some kind of prep? He hopes not. But he should probably check.

“Yeah, it’s good. Try and hold on for a couple more hours, get some sleep or something. I’ll be back here soon,” Mercury assures him. He turns to leave. 

“Um… could you stay for a bit?” Oscar wonders quietly.

Mercury stops, then swivels around and walks back towards the farm boy. 

“Yeah, sure. Do you want to play Uno?” He holds out the deck of cards. “I’ve got it right here.”

“...Didn’t we play, like, two hours ago?”

“Your point?”   
  
“Fair enough,” Oscar shrugs. “Promise you won’t try to cheat this time?”   
  


Mercury gasps, putting on what he thinks is an excellent look of fake shock. “Me? A cheater? Never!”

Oscar let out a small laugh. Yes!

“Uh huh, sure! I can see  _ right  _ through you,” Oscar teased. 

Mercury forces a laugh, trying not to take the kid’s words to heart. It was a joke. He isn’t really that easy to read, right?

He better not be. 

“Sure you can, kid. Anyway, I can win without cheating!” Mercury fires back, easing back into the humor of their conversation. For just a few minutes, he can forget about the terrifying escape that he has to make (and plan) later that night. He can forget about Salem, about Cinder, about… Emerald. For just this moment, he can play a game with his friend. 

\---

Mercury loses. He has never been so glad to do so. 

“Again?” he yells in frustration. He might be glad to see that Oscar’s okay, but that doesn’t mean that yet another humiliating defeat isn’t… annoying. 

“Haha, I told you!” Oscar crows triumphantly. He hasn’t been able to move the whole game due to his injuries, but it looks like he’s still been enjoying himself. That’s good. If all goes well, he’ll be safe and sound by tomorrow.

  
Well, as safe as one gets when in the middle of a war. 

Mercury stands up, stretching out his arms. “Alrighty kiddo, time for me to go. I’ve got a couple things to do. You get some rest okay?” 

Oscar nods.

Mercury wants to like… ruffle his hair or something. But that’s probably not a very good idea. Maybe someday. “I’ll be back soon. You good to just… hang until then?” He cringes at the bad wording, remembering how only a couple days ago Oscar had been left hanging from one of Salem’s freaky torture hooks. Mercury had counted his blessing that Oscar had been merely tied to the hook, instead of suspended in other ways. Small mercies. Or not so small. Mercies, nonetheless. 

Oscar doesn’t seem to notice Mercury’s slip-up. Or at least, he doesn’t show it. “Yup, I’ll be okay.”

Mercury nods, and again turns to leave. 

“And Mercury?”   
  
He looks over his shoulder. “Mhm?”

“Thank you.” Oscar locks eyes with him. “I mean it. You’re sacrificing a lot for me.”

Mercury flashes him a weary smile. “Don’t thank me yet.”

“And besides… it was the right thing to do.”

\---

Escaping is a lot simpler than Mercury had expected. 

At first. 

He walks down the fleshy corridor to Oscar’s chamber, as normally as possible. Nothing treasonous going on here. Nothing at all. Totally.

The door opens as he steps close, the weird  _ squelch _ it makes causing Mercury to flinch. He’s on edge.

The gray haired boy steps carefully down the stairs towards Oscar. “Hey, kid. You ready?”

Oscar looks up, hazel eyes weary, but determined. “Ready.” 

Mercury kneels down next to the farmhand, flexing his wrists. With a grunt, he scoops him up and into his arms. Oscar gives a little yelp. Mercury isn’t sure if this is out of surprise, or because of an injury. 

“You okay?” he asks. 

Oscar winces, but nods. “Yeah.”

Mercury hugs Oscar tight to his chest (but not too tight) and together they flee the awful room.    
  
Mercury decides that he absolutely will not miss it. 

They run down the hallway, Mercury trying to step as lightly as possible to avoid noise. Oscar weighs practically nothing, so carrying him isn’t a problem. The two of them make it as far as the docking bay before they run into a problem. 

The problem stands at four foot ten, has two different colored eyes, and is currently pointing an unnecessarily sharp umbrella at Mercury’s face. 

Fuck. 

Mercury doesn’t move. Perhaps he can somehow pretend that he isn’t betraying Salem? 

Oscar coughs. 

Ah, right. That would be a dead giveaway. 

Neopolitan lunges at them, her parasol nearly spearing Mercury. He jumps away just in time, clutching Oscar close. This is… very not good. He can’t fight while protecting Oscar, and even if he could, he’s not sure if he would be strong enough to defeat her. He’s an excellent fighter, that’s for sure, but he doesn’t know nearly enough about the woman’s fighting style to be able to anticipate her moves and react appropriately. 

In other words, he’s pretty fucked. 

Neo smiles at him. Er… smirks. Yeah. That was definitely a smirk. 

Mercury dodges another attack just in time. He spins and twists, trying to avoid Neo’s graceful stabs and slices. He can’t keep doing this. Sooner or later, he’s going to slip up, and get him or Oscar hurt… or worse. Mercury narrowly misses another strike.

He swerves out of the way, feeling Oscar curl in on himself inside his arms. Finally, his chance comes. He kicks out at Neopolitan, his foot colliding with her stomach and-

She shatters into a million pieces. 

Suddenly, Mercury is aware of a weapon coming at him, fast, faster and-

“You really can’t do anything on your own, can you?”

The blow never lands. 

Emerald straightens up, Thief’s Respite drawn. She sighs, then grins affectionately at Mercury.

He stares in shock for a moment, then shakes his head. “I thought you weren’t coming?”

“I wasn’t,” Emerald admits. “But I think you need me… more than Cinder does. And… I think it would be nice to keep hanging out with you.” She turns her head away, clearly not wanting to talk about the situation. Mercury takes the cue. 

“Uh, sorry to interrupt?” Oscar whispers. Mercury had almost forgotten he was there. “But where did the scary short lady with the pointy umbrella go?”

Mercury snaps around, looking for Neo. She’s… gone.

“Come on,” Emerald urges him. “We’ve got to go while we can.”

Mercury nods, adjusting Oscar. He doesn’t miss how the boy hisses in discomfort. They hurry onto the airship, Emerald taking a seat at the front. She turns back to Mercury sheepishly.

“Um… do you know how to fly one of these things?” 

Mercury sets Oscar down as gently as he can and joins Emerald at the controls. “It can’t be that hard, can it? Neo did it.”

Emerald mutters something that sounds awfully like “then why don’t you try, Mr. Hero,” but Mercury decides to ignore her. 

He rolls his eyes. “I know you can do it,” he says, heading back towards Oscar. 

Emerald sighs, but turns back to the controls. Soon enough, they are lifting up from the “dock area” of the whale. In the air, at last. 

Mercury sits down next to Oscar. The kid’s had a rough night, and a pretty terrible week. He looks exhausted. 

“So… whatcha thinking about?”   
  


Oscar lets out a heavy breath, but when he turns to face Mercury, his hazel eyes are filled with relief and joy. “Not really thinking. More of just… spacing out. Glad that I’m going home.”   
  
Mercury grins. “Yeah, me too. You deserve some rest.”

“You too,” Oscar replies. “You’ve been really nice to me. Like, really nice. You literally just saved my life. And sanity. And probably everything else.”

Mercury smirks. “Damn, I guess I was pretty cool. You owe me big, huh?”

He can see the gears turning behind Oscar’s eyes, his thoughts running frantically. The kid opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, Mercury cuts him off with a laugh. 

“I’m kidding. You don’t owe me anything, trust me. Consider it  _ my  _ debt being paid back. For, y’know…” Mercury scratches his head. “Working with Salem ‘nd stuff.”

Oscar tilts his head to this side. “I don’t think you should really be blamed for that? Well, not entirely at least. You were a kid.” 

He fixes Mercury with that... stare of his. “You still are.”   
  
Mercury leans his head back, resting it against the seat of the airship. “I guess. How about you do one thing for me?”   
  
“Okay, what is it?”

Mercury runs a hand through his hair. “Tell your friends not to kill me when we get to them. And… if it’s possible, maybe I could stay with you guys for a while?”

Oscar smiles. “Of course. I’ll do what I can.”

Mercury lets out a breath that he didn’t know he was holding, then scans Oscar with his gray eyes. “So I am a kid... but you’re like, a really little kid.”   
  
“Not that much younger than you!” Oscar argues with a huff. 

“Eh. Still pretty little. And short.”   
  
“What does height have to do with it?!”

“Hehe. Short.”

Oscar’s protests fade into mumbles. He sighs, slumping back. “I’m just really, really glad that we’re going home.”   
  
“Me too.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Mercury sees Emerald glancing back at them with a soft smile. He gives her a slight nod. They’re okay. They are going to be okay.

They’re going home. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading!! please tell me if I made any mistakes or typos, and feedback is always appreciated!
> 
> also:
> 
> THIS FIC. HAS. FREAKING. FANART!!!!! ITS SO AMAZING!!! LITERALLY EVERYTHING ABOUT IT IS FANTASTIC IN EVERY WAY I JUST,,,, I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
> 
> [you can find it here!!](https://insulationsun.tumblr.com/post/638063987645349888/i-dont-know-if-this-trend-is-over-yet-but-i-never)


	3. falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercury, Emerald, and Oscar are on their way home at last. Maybe, just maybe, things will be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello y'all!! ive been updating this slower than I thought I would, but it's finally done. I have a strange habit of making each new chapter twice as long as the last one. huh. anyway, I hope you enjoy!

The tundra of Solitas is cold, harsh, and absolutely unforgiving. Anyone who entered unprotected would be dead within hours. 

So naturally, Mercury thinks it’s a terrible, horrible, definitely awful idea for two traitors in need of rest and an auraless, mini-Huntsmen to be walking around in it. 

“It’ll be fine,” Emerald had assured him. “We’ll only be out for a minute while we walk over to that hut thing! Do you really want to stay in this airship forever? It’ll be easier to make a plan if we’re somewhere bigger, with a good place to rest.”

Mercury had agreed at the time, but now, stomping through the snow and ice with Oscar clinging onto his back like a baby koala, he was beginning to regret that. Sure, it’ll only be another minute until he reaches the hut, but in that time before he does, will he freeze and die a cold, horrible death? Who knows. It’s possible. 

Oscar shivers on Mercury’s back, hugging him tighter. The kid is giving Mercury a little bit of warmth, and probably vice versa, but he’s surely freezing too. Especially with no aura to protect him.

Picking up the pace just a bit, Mercury looks towards Emerald. Her arms are wrapped tightly around herself, but she looks determinedly ahead of her. Mercury feels a spark of admiration that he quickly brushes away. He’s got other things to focus on. 

They reach shelter. It’s been less than three minutes, but Mercury is frigid. He rushes inside the hut while Emerald holds the door open for him (not without a sigh), and looks around. It’s fairly small, with an old control station and a desk, a couple beds and drawers. Best of all, the heating system looks like it might work. He looks at Emerald and nods towards it. She nods back, and Mercury turns to one of the beds. 

As carefully as possible, he slides Oscar off of his back and onto the bed. The farm boy settles himself on the bed, seeming uncomfortable. 

He looks up at Mercury, hugging himself. “So… um… what now?”

Mercury sits down on the bed next to him, trying to give Oscar as much room as possible. “We’ll stay here for a bit. Get the heat on, see if whoever was here last left us anything useful. See if we can get your aura up,” he tells Oscar, giving him a look. “Then… find your friends, I guess.”

Oscar’s face brightens up a little at the mention of his friends. “That’s good, I think. Is there… anything I can do to help?”  
  


“Ask Em,” Mercury responds, shrugging. “She’s the boss.”  
  


“Damn right I am!” calls Emerald from across the room.

Oscar snickers. 

The gray haired assassin cracks a smile. This is nice. This is… good. Calm. For once, he isn’t weighed down by the fear and worry of everything going on around him. The feelings of terror and despair remain (he won’t be getting rid of them that easily) but it’s nice to just push them to the side. Focus on this. On his friends.

It’s kind of funny; he’s only known Oscar for… what, a week? And yet, Mercury considers him to be family. After a life of keeping his walls up, shoving people out, keeping himself on guard, it only took the kid seven days or so to worm his way into Mercury’s heart.

Emerald will absolutely never let him hear the end of this.

Somehow, his thoughts seem to summon the illusionist. She walks over and sits down on the bed across from Oscar and Mercury, stretching. 

“I got the heating on, I think. Probably.” She glances at Mercury. “It seems like it’s getting warmer, right?”

Mercury ponders for a minute. “Uh, yeah. I think so.”

Beside him, Oscar nods. “Yup.” 

Emerald sighs with relief. “That’s good news. Anyway, I don’t see much else around here besides the beds, but if we look, we might be able to find something useful in a wall compartment or something. Wanna help me look?” She directs the last question at Mercury. 

He stands up with her, glancing over at Oscar. Em follows his gaze, her eyes resting on the farm boy. Her eyes narrow slightly as she thinks. “Okay kid, I’ve got a job for you.”

Oscar tilts his head to the side. “Yeah?”

“Stay there. Rest, don’t aggravate your injuries, build up some aura, and if you can, try to like, take stock of everything that will need medical care. It’ll be quicker and easier to help you if you already know what you need help with.”

“Fine,” Oscar sighs. “But I could be of more help than just-”

“Not in this state,” Emerald tells him. “Sorry. But you’ll thank me later.”  
  
Mercury hides his smile as he and Emerald cross the room, Oscar muttering something as they walk away.

Emerald leads him to a cabinet, looking it up and down for a moment. She begins opening doors on one side, peering into the dark space, feeling around in case there’s anything. Mercury goes to the opposite side, and does the same. They work in silence, slowly raiding the drawers and studying the items that they find. After a minute or two, Mercury can’t bear it anymore. 

“So… you came with us.”

Emerald looks up at him, raising an eyebrow. “Yup.”

He squints, trying to figure out what the object within his hand is. It looks like some kind of food bar, old and definitely past the expiration date. 

“But back on the whale-”  
  


“That’s a pretty non-specific period of time.”

“Yeah, yeah. When I told you about what I was going to do…”

Mercury trails off. Is it really his place to be asking? Ah, fuck it.

“You seemed pretty against the idea of leaving. What changed your mind?” he asks.

With a long, drawn out sigh, Emerald puts down whatever she was holding. “I thought I told you, when we made our daring escape.”

“You said that you thought I needed you more than Cinder did, but you never really elaborated.” 

Mercury flicks his fingers back and forth, avoiding Emerald’s eyes.  
  


“And why should I?” the thief snaps, her arms crossed. “I don’t owe you the answer to that.”  
  


Mercury looks up, tilting his head to the side. He meets her gaze. They stare at each other for a few moments. 

“Fine,” Emerald relents, breaking eye contact. “I guess… I guess I thought about what you said. About Cinder. Her not caring about me. I think that deep down, I knew, but… I didn’t want to believe it. I owe her everything.”  
  
She exhales. “At least, that’s what I thought.”

Emerald smiles. Just a small smile. 

“But I think I’ve paid my debt, and then some. And maybe, I thought, maybe I could finally get what I wanted if I just kept trying. But I’ve been trying for… for so long.” 

The green-haired girl turns to Mercury again. He blinks slowly, a sign of silent encouragement for her to continue.

“After Haven, I kept thinking ‘Things will get better when Cinder is back. I just have to wait until Cinder is back,’ and I guess that clouded everything. When she finally did come back, I thought everything would feel right again. I thought I’d be happy again, by her side. But you’re right, and I should’ve realized that sooner. She never cared about me.”

Mercury sighs. “I’m sorry for what I told you. Yeah, I said it. I’m sorry. It was harsh. You don’t deserve that.”

Emerald leans back against the wall. “Thanks.”

They fall silent again, neither continuing their task. 

“So, uh, thank you too.”  
  
Em’s eyebrows raise in surprise. “For what?”  
  
Mercury shifts his arms. “Coming with me. I…” He flinches. “I don’t think I would be able to do this alone. Without you.”

She reaches over, resting a hand on his shoulder. “We’re going to get through whatever this is together. Okay?”

“Me, you, and one farm boy whose parents forgot to water him,” Mercury replies with a grin.

“Hey!” the un-watered farm boy yells indignantly from the bed. “I heard that!”

Mercury and Emerald break into laughter. It’s nice to have a little humor once in a while as the world descends into war.

Their mirth fades, and much too soon, the moment is over. Mercury sighs. They have things to do. 

He turns back to his task, examining the food bar yet again. Too old to be good food, but… building material? Scratch that. He tosses the bar away, reaching back into the drawer for something else.

Emerald resumes her own job. “Where do we go from here?” she wonders aloud, her voice lowered so that Oscar won’t hear. “What do we do?”

Mercury tenses. “I’m not sure. We find the kid’s friends, I guess.”

“But where?” Emerald persists. “Does he know where they are?”

“I doubt it,” Mercury responds irritably. As if he would know. “You’d have to ask him yourself.”

Em blinks, looking like she wants to ask something else, but restrains herself. She turns away, her eyes glued to the canister in her grip. “I just….” She hesitates. “I wish I knew where we were going. It’s been a long time since I- since either of us were going somewhere, doing something significant… without someone’s orders.”

Mercury’s eyes narrow. She’s right. He never quite thought about it like that, but… the freedom is kind of terrifying. He likes it better than being controlled, that much is clear, but that doesn’t make it any less unsettling. Especially with Oscar as his responsibility.

But he’s got Em with him, Mercury reminds himself. He isn’t alone. They’ll be together until all of this craziness is over, and then they’ll figure out what to do. And between all three of them, Mercury figures that they have a fair chance of making it to Oscar’s friends, safe and sound. Probably. 

“We’ll figure it out,” he assures her. “It’ll be fine. We’ve got Oscar, we’ve got a ship, and whatever this weird place can provide us.”

Emerald nods slowly. “Okay.”

Mercury stands up, stretching his arms behind his head. “I’ve got a roll of bandages, but that’s about it for anything useful.”

Emerald follows his lead, rising to her feet as well. “I’ve got an old flashlight, and some batteries, although I don’t know if they’ll work. It’s not much, but it should help a little.” She tilts her head in Oscar’s direction. “Maybe go see if those would be of any use to Oscar?”

Mercury nods, picking up the roll of bandages and heading back towards the freckled kid. Oscar is still sitting on the bed, leaning against a small pillow and inspecting his left wrist. He looks up as Mercury approaches, positioning himself so that Mercury will have a place to sit.

“I think I’ve got some broken ribs,” he begins. “Nothing too bad, I don’t think. My wrist might be sprained… but I can’t feel it, so possibly some sort of nerve damage? I don’t know much about this kind of stuff,” Oscar admits.

Merc nods, holding out the bandages for Oscar to see. “Think these could help at all?”

Oscar smiles a bit. “I think so. Wanna help me wrap up my wrist?”

Mercury sits down next to him, spreading out the boy’s arm as gently as possible. Yeah, surely an injury there. Carefully, he unravels the bandages and winds them around Oscar’s wrist. Tight, but not too tight. Tight enough to do the job, but mustn’t hurt him. That would be bad.

Soon enough, he’s finished. Oscar lifts his arm, studying his newly wrapped injury. Satisfied, he leans back against the pillow. Mercury notices him wince, hears the sharp inhale. Oscar’s definitely right about the damaged ribs, but neither of them have the expertise to tell if they’re broken or just bruised. Hopefully, one of the farm boy’s teammates will be able to figure that out for them.

“So… maybe we’ll crash here for tonight, then leave to find Ruby and the others tomorrow?” Oscar asks hopefully.

Mercury nods. “Sounds like a plan. Think you can find them?”

Oscar scratches his head with his good (well, better) hand. “I don’t know where they are, but I know a place where we can start looking. If we go to Schnee Manor, Weiss’s house, we might be able to find someone there who’d be willing to help us. I think.”

Mercury blinks. “You think.”

Oscar nods in affirmation. “A good, strong maybe.”

“It’ll do,” Mercury sighs. “Get some sleep. We’re leaving as soon as we can.”

Oscar nods, and curls up on the bed. Mercury watches over him for a few minutes, only satisfied when his breathing finally evens out and his small form relaxes. He should be okay for now. Resting will be good for him. With most of her followers occupied, it should be difficult for Salem to find them for now. He can only hope that she doesn’t send a Grimm, or her little experiment after them, but even if she were to do that, they should have at least a few hours before they’re discovered. 

The kid should get some rest during that time. Considering how things are going, it might be the last time for a while that he gets a good night’s sleep. The same goes for Merc and Em. 

Mercury rises from the bed and looks around for Emerald. He spots her leaning against the wall and opens his mouth to call out to her, only to realize that she too is asleep. That’s unexpected… but at least they won’t have to work out sleeping arrangements. There’s one more bed left. Mercury glances at the bed, then Em. 

He runs a hand over his face, then picks up Emerald as delicately as possible, resting her on the bed. 

It’s not because he’s being nice. It’s because it will be very annoying to have their pilot complaining of aching muscles in the morning. Obviously.

Mercury settles down in the corner where his companion had been sitting previously, and trying to find a comfortable position. His ash colored hair falls in front of his eyes as he finds a decent arrangement. He blows it out of his face and sighs yet again. It’s a good thing that he doesn’t have some kind of sigh limit. He would’ve been out of sighs a long, long time ago. 

Mercury closes his eyes. For the first time in many months, sleep finds him quickly.

As darkness catches up to him, Mercury hears Oscar’s voice again: 

“I trust you.”

He does not dream.

\---

Mercury doesn’t know how many hours it is before he’s shaken awake by a certain green-haired thief, but _by the moon, his back aches._

Honestly though, what did he expect?

“Wake up, Merc!” 

Emerald pinches his arm. “We’ve got a long trip.”

Yawning, Mercury lifts himself off of the floor and stretches his arms with a wince. Yeah, not his best idea. 

He blinks blearily, looking around the room. Oscar is leaning sleepily against the wall, his fresh bandage already coming undone. Emerald taps her foot with slight impatience, ready to go and holding their things.  
  
“Sorry for not waking you up earlier,” she smirks. “But I figured you’d need your beauty sleep.”  
  
Mercury glares at her. “Ha ha, very funny.” He dutifully holds his hand out, and into it she drops the flashlight that she had found last night, equipped with the fresh batteries.  
  


“Ready to go?”

The question is directed at both him and Oscar. Mercury glances at the little Huntsmen, head tilted slightly to the side. Oscar nods. 

Mercury turns back to Emerald. “We’re ready.”

She takes a deep breath, one last look around the room, and opens the door. The cold wind blows in immediately, it’s chill running over all of them. Oscar shivers. Emerald takes his arm, supporting him as he walks.

They step out of the door, and towards the airship.  
  


“Then let’s get moving.” She turns to Mercury with a grin. “We’ve got a pretty important trip ahead of us.”

The three of them make one last trudge through the thick snow, and board the airship. The ship is cold, but not quite as freezing as the outside. Emerald takes her seat in the pilot’s chair, leaving Mercury to get himself and Oscar settled in the back.

And soon enough, they’re flying.

\---

It seems that luck is on their side. This is pretty unusual for him or Emerald, Mercury decides as he muses over it. Maybe Oscar brought them good luck?

Then again, Oscar was picked to be Oz’s next reincarnation.

Maybe fortune was just paying back the debt that it very obviously owed. 

It’s not difficult to locate the Schnee estate among the empty streets of Atlas. The houses in the city aren’t exactly… small, but the family’s manor stands out among the rest. While soaring over the floating kingdom, Emerald locates it with ease. 

Their odd little family is not pursued by any Grimm on the journey, which is a relief. Although it is rather… suspicious. Mercury glances over at Oscar. Surely Salem wouldn’t give him up quite that easily?

The back of his neck tingles, but Mercury shrugs off the sensation. They’re about to touch down. Everything will be fine. 

And for once…

He wasn’t immediately proven wrong. 

Emerald lands them relatively smoothly, considering that she has little to no experience flying an airship. As she steps away from the controls, the door opens, and the air that rushes in to greet them is, while not warm, not cold either. Something about an artificial climate or another similar factor. 

Mercury helps Oscar up, glad to see the relief and joy on the boy’s face. He looks utterly spent, but there’s a spark behind his eyes that definitely wasn’t there on the whale. Definitely a good sign. 

Emerald leads them out of the ship and around the fountain. Beside it is a large hole. With a pang of worry, Mercury wonders what caused that. It’s pretty unlikely that the prissy Schnees meant for it to be there intentionally. 

He skirts the crater, guiding Oscar around it as well. It would be considerably bad if the freckled child fell in and injured himself more, after all of this.

As they approach the doors, Emerald’s confidence visibly fades. Mercury can almost seeing her brain running wild with worries and fears and-

“Hey,” he murmurs, resting a hand on her shoulder. “It’ll be alright.”  
  


Emerald smiles weakly, then looks down at Oscar. The farm boy takes her hand, squeezing it. He looks at the door, still leaning against Mercury, and nods to Em. 

She steps forward, and knocks.

The sound echoes through the courtyard, and most likely throughout the house as well. Emerald’s hand drops to her side, and she steps back hesitantly. 

They wait. 

Emerald looks apprehensively at Mercury, anxiety clear on her face. He wraps his arm tighter around Oscar, returning her glance with a small shrug.

There’s a noise. Both of their heads snap back towards the door. It begins to open, a creaking noise coming from it.

The entryway swings open, and before Mercury can open his mouth to speak, an extremely sharp blade is pointed at his face.

This seems to be a pattern. 

The wielder of this sword is a young man with blond hair that, for some reason, reminds Mercury distinctly of bananas. Huh. His blue eyes are weary, grieving… and the moment he lays eyes on Emerald and Mercury they harden with anger.

Behind him stands a tall Hunter with dark hair tied into a braid, and a few feet away from that one is a pale girl with blue eyes the color of ice. 

The blond steps forward, sword raised to strike. He’s the dumb one - Jaune. Perhaps maybe not so dumb, considering that the Huntsmen is likely about to kill him. 

But before the sword touches Mercury, it stops, then falls to its owner’s side, clattering to the ground a moment later. Jaune’s voice is a hoarse whisper. 

“Oscar?”

Oscar stares at Jaune. Mercury can see the tears pooling in both their eyes. The hazel eyed boy begins to step towards Jaune. As soon as he puts weight on his injured leg he stumbles, letting out a small cry of pain. Mercury instantly grabs him, making sure that Oscar doesn’t fall. 

Instantly, a shimmering glyph appears below his feet. 

“Get your hands off of him,” the Huntress snarls, her rapier pointed at Mercury’s chest.

“It’s okay!” Oscar assures them. He nods at Mercury, then Emerald. “They’re good.”

The other Hunter (Ren, Mercury remembers) doesn’t lower his weapons, shooting a glance at Emerald. “They were at Haven.”

Oscar nods, leaning more heavily against Mercury. Mercury wants to pick him up to spare him the pain of having to lean on his leg, but he doubts that would go over well with Oscar’s friends. 

“They don’t work for Salem anymore,” insists Oscar. “They helped me escape.”

Ren and Jaune look at each other, speaking through their eyes. Jaune sighs, lowering his sword. “Okay.” He turns to Mercury. “But if they make one wrong move-”

Jaune cuts himself off there, but the look in his eyes conveys clearly what the rest of his sentence would’ve been. Mercury shifts away from his glare. 

Ren sheathes his weapons, moving past Jaune and towards Oscar. Mercury leans down and puts an arm around Oscar’s shoulders, assisting him as he limps towards his friend. Ren goes most of the way. As soon as Ren has Oscar supported, Mercury lets go, allowing Oscar’s teammate to have a proper reunion with him. 

Ren hugs Oscar tightly, gleaming tears squeezing out of his eyes. A pang of jealousy stings in Mercury’s gut. He tries to suppress it, but there’s nothing he can do. These people are close, bonded by experiences that no one should have to go through, but all of them survived together.

Mercury feels a warm on his shoulder, a hand. He turns to see Emerald, smiling gently at him. He and Em have been through a lot together as well. 

And now, they’re freer than ever. 

He pulls himself out of his thoughts in time to hear Oscar’s muffled sobs against Ren’s chest. The Huntsman’s pink eyes threaten to overflow. “I’m so, so sorry,” he whispers. “We tried to save you, but we were too late. We weren’t good enough. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Oscar promises him. “I’m okay.”

The leader, Jaune, joins their embrace, wrapping his arms around both of his friends. The three stand together, reunited at last. Off to the side, Mercury can see Weiss (he recognizes her now - the rich, haughty one) struggling to suppress tears. 

“I’m going to get the others,” she tells them as she backs into the house, rushing away. 

Mercury and Emerald stand in uncomfortable silence for a few more moments, watching Oscar and his friends pour out their tears, relief, and regret. Soon enough, three more Huntresses come dashing out the door after Weiss, all wearing expressions of hope, joy, and utter disbelief. 

The red one (Ruby, of course) races to her teammates, tears flowing freely from her face. She’s followed by the Faunus (who wears an amount of zippers that _really_ seems like overkill), along with Weiss and her gigantic braid, and the blonde Huntress (Yang - Mercury remembers her _well),_ who Mercury has a feeling won’t be too happy to see him. Team RWBY joins the hug with loud sobs, quiet cries, and unbridled joy. 

“We wanted to go looking for you,” Blake tells Oscar as she wipes tears from her eyes.

“But we thought… we thought it was too late,” Yang finishes, her powerful arms hugging the boy tight.

Ruby lifts her head from Weiss’s shoulder (where she had been drying her wet eyes, Mercury realizes, barely containing a snort). “But you’re safe now, and that’s all that matters.” She studies Oscar. “Right?”

Oscar nods, turning to the rest of his friends. “I… yeah. Safe.”

“We’ll have to get some sort of tracker installed,” Jaune jokes. “This is… what, the third time we’ve lost you?”

“Fourth,” Ren corrects him, then frowns. “That’s concerning.”

“Maybe a child leash then,” Yang muses. She elbows the side of Oscar’s arm, noticing immediately as he winces in pain. “What’s wrong? What did I do?”

“It’s not you,” Oscar reassures her. “I just… uh….” He looks to Mercury for support. The rest of his friends turn to look as well.

Mercury grimaces. “Salem tortured him.”

Everyone’s heads snap back to Oscar, alarmed. “She did what?!”

Oscar jerks his head to this side, clearly trying to convey something like “ _seriously dude?!? why would you say that??? fix this please!!”_

“I, uh, only meant that she, um,” Mercury corrects himself elegantly. “She lightly tortured him,” he finishes, half-heartedly looking at Oscar with a tilt of his head. _How was that?_

“Thanks,” Oscar deadpans. 

“She _tortured_ you?! And you’re just walking around here with all of those injuries? Gods, how didn’t I see those before?” Yang frets. “And you let me hug you!”

“Really, I’m okay now,” Oscar pleads. “You don’t have to worry.”

Emerald steps forward, arms crossed. “You may be safe, but that doesn’t make you okay, kid. Trauma like that doesn’t heal overnight.”

Ruby’s silver gaze turns to Em. “It’s nice to see you again.”

Emerald nods. “Yeah.”

Ruby gives her a small smile, then turns back to Oscar. “Emerald’s right. You might feel okay now but...”

Yang finishes for her. “It isn’t going to just go away. And that’s okay too.”

Blake nods. “You don’t have to pretend to be okay either.” She reaches down, wrapping her arms around his neck to comfort him. “We’re here.”  
  


Mercury looks away as the freckled boy begins to cry again. He deserves a good cry, honestly. The kid has been through way too much to simply be okay.

They all have.

Jaune scoops Oscar up and heads back into the house with Ren keeping pace alongside them, the two presumably planning to find Oscar somewhere to rest. As they leave, Mercury can see the warm glow of aura as the older Huntsman begins to heal Oscar. 

Blake and Yang head back into the house after their friends, murmuring to each other. Weiss has already disappeared. Mercury and Emerald are alone outside, save for Ruby. 

Mercury scrunches up his nose. Something’s not quite right. “Wasn’t there… another one of you?” he recalls.

Ruby avoids his gaze. “Yeah, Nora.” 

Merc and Em share a look. They come nonverbally to a mutual agreement: better not to ask.

Ruby sighs, then turns tail and heads into the house, her bright red cape flowing behind her. 

“Well?” a voice calls. Mercury spins around, eyes landing on Weiss, who stands in the doorway. She raises an eyebrow. “Are you two coming in or what?”

Emerald moves to Mercury’s side. She nods, bumping her shoulder against his. Mercury sighs, a sound of both exasperation and contentment. 

And side by side, they walk through a new door. 

\---

A week later, it’s a stretch to say that things have improved. Atlas is still under siege. Although Salem’s inner circle has been reduced, and her Grimm army is constantly fought by Ironwood’s military, she still holds the upper hand. Team RWBY has been fighting as hard as they can down in Mantle, assisting the Happy Huntresses - who decided to call them that? Honestly, Mercury himself could’ve thought up a better name - in the evacuations.

Nora, Mercury soon learned, was in no shape to fight. Or do anything, for that matter. The Huntress was still asleep, although her condition was now stable, thanks to Klein (Weiss’s butler, apparently). He had arrived a few days before Mercury and Emerald had. Ruby had told them that although Nora was stable and not in danger of getting worse, it was unclear when she’d wake up. After healing her physical scars, there was nothing else that Jaune could do. She needed a real hospital.

As did Oscar. As Ruby and her friends had predicted, things only got worse. Jaune had fixed most of his physical injuries, but he was still healing mentally from the experience. Ren, who had some weird power that had to do with emotions, confirmed this. 

Once Oscar was safe, out of harm’s way, and released from the pressure of literally fighting for his life, everything began to... set in. 

Mercury usually let Oscar’s team be with him - he had found that Emerald and himself were more helpful with the effort down in Mantle, where they joined team RWBY on most days - but once in a while, he liked to check in and talk to Oscar. No one minded, of course; Mercury had saved his life.

Mercury enjoyed sitting with Oscar. The former farmhand was confined to his bed (doctor’s order, apparently, although Mercury wasn’t quite sure that Jaune was qualified to be a doctor) and had terrible nightmares, but he almost always brightened up when Mercury came to visit. He figured that there was something comforting about Mercury’s presence, probably related to the fact that he was the only silver lining to Oscar’s time on the whale. They sat together, and things were okay. 

Today, as Mercury opened the door to Oscar’s room, it was dark. He crept over to the bed, where Oscar lay huddled under the thick blankets. Mercury knocks softly, as if knocking on a door.  
  


“Anyone home?” 

Slowly, Oscar’s face appears from the sheets. Mercury tries for a smile. 

“How’re you doing?” he asks, gently bringing Oscar to a sitting position. 

Oscar hugs the blankets tighter, but doesn’t try to hide. “I’m… okay. Okayish. Whitley’s been talking to me. I like when he talks to me.”

Mercury nods. “That sounds nice. Do you want anything to eat or drink?”

Oscar shakes his head. “No. But… how long are you going to stay for?”

Mercury pauses. “What do you mean?”

“I know you aren’t going to stay with us forever. It’s not what you want. You and Emerald want to go.” He turns away. “You both want to leave.”

Mercury sits down on the bed. “We’re going to go eventually, but not now. We’ll stay as long as you need. One day, when things are a bit better, we’re going to try and escape.”

He sighs, tapping his fingers against the bedside. “We want to live our own lives. I want to _have_ a life. One day, we’re going to go somewhere new, and live lives away from this war.” 

“Oh. That sounds… good.”

Mercury reaches out and ruffles Oscar’s hair, making sure not to put pressure. “But not yet. I’m not leaving until things are better, okay?”

Oscar nods. “Okay.”

“Is there anything else you wanna ask?”

Oscar hesitates. He bites his lip, and fidgets with the blankets. The room is still dark, casting shadows on his hazel eyes.

“Do you think we could play a game?”

Mercury grins. He pulls out a thick, slightly battered deck of Uno cards.

Everything is going to turn out okay.

\---

Oscar wins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks to [@myLovelyFools](https://twitter.com/MyLovelyfools) and [@CATBOYNIC0](https://twitter.com/CATBOYNIC0) for beta reading!! I love you guys <333
> 
> so even though this theory went up in flames (rip,,, I really liked it) I still had fun writing this!!
> 
> I wanted to make it clear bc im not sure the ending conveyed it but: Emerald and Mercury don't want to be heroes. that's why they didn't join RWBY and their friends. they don't want to save the world. they just want to live their lives, and if they can do some good in the process, then all the better
> 
> thank you so much for reading!! so... about that trailer, huh? *screams* im so terrified for part two but aaaaaaa excited as well!! since im not on Tumblr, im not an official part of the Oscar protection squad, but im gonna save that kid with sheer force of will,,, manifesting a JOYR hug in the next couple of weeks!!
> 
>   
> you can find me on twitter @ sapphicscarlett !! I'd love to talk, and my curiouscat link is there as well :) 
> 
> comments and feedback are always appreciated, and please tell me if I have any typos, or missed any tags! have a lovely day!

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! feel free to tell me if I need to add a tag or have typos. Feedback is always appreciated. [You can find me on twitter @ sapphicscarlett](https://twitter.com/sapphicscarlett) and here is my [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.qa/sapphicscarlett) !!


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